A man says he and his dog both fell ill after the council moved him into a rat-infested property.
Alan Franklin signed for the property in Lincoln on July 31.
But he says that within days of moving in, he and his partner began to notice a strong smell of urine in their bedroom and noises coming from the attic, reports Lincolnshire Live.
Alan said: "When we started to notice, we immediately contacted the council. The smell was really overwhelming.
"A gentleman was sent out by the council to survey the property and told us that the attic was completely infested with rats.
"I was shocked. We were told that the property had sat empty for 13 weeks, and in that time I was under the impression they were supposed to inspect the property and make sure it is habitable for the next tenant."
Alan said that following the initial survey, he and his partner were left waiting for the council to return to bait and clear away the insulation.
"I felt like I had to keep chasing and chasing," said Alan.
"Eventually they came back out around a month ago, to clear away the insulation and put bait down. The man contracted by the council took absolutely no care when removing the insulation. It was covered with rat wee and poo and when he removed it, he didn't double bag it.
"Bits of insulation were flying everywhere and the dust has just completely covered the house. Thankfully it was just me and the dog in at the time so my partner hasn't been affected."
Alan said that within five days of the council clearing the loft, he developed a lung infection.
"I'm currently on Doxycycline which is used to treat lung infections. My dog has also had to go to the vet and was given oxygen treatment for her lungs," said Alan.
"We were moved from such a beautiful council house in Birchwood, that we'd had for years and really got it how we liked it, to this flat that is stinking and full of rats.
"I firmly believe the council knew about this before moving us in, and there are five other flats in our block that are all suffering with the same problem.
"One of our neighbours has taken down her Christmas decorations from the loft, and they were all chewed through."
Dwayne Wilson, 32, lives in the adjacent block of flats and said that he believes he also has a rat infestation in his council property.
He said: "I can hear them above my bedroom at night.
"I recently went up in the loft to fit an aerial and found a large amount of rat droppings up there, so I wasn't really keen on popping my head back up there.
"I thought when Alan first made the complaint, the council would sort out the rest of the block but that hasn't happened.
"I think everybody in these flats has the same problem and the council are aware, they just haven't done anything."
Yvonne Fox, assistant director at City of Lincoln Council said: "We understand that signs of pest activity can be distressing and Mr Franklin has our sympathies.
"When we were first made aware, in August, of a potential issue with rats at the property we immediately arranged for a pest control company to visit. They laid bait but this remained untouched, indicating that pests were no longer active on site.
"Following a further concern raised by Mr Franklin at the beginning of November we again arranged for bait to be laid and loft insulation to be removed. We have monitored the situation since then and, to date, there has been no sign of any pest activity in the communal loft. It is our intention that we will install new loft insulation in the next two weeks, once the baiting period has finished.
"Given the issues raised, we have launched a full investigation with our contractors to look into the allegations made by Mr Franklin."
